This invention pertains to motor vehicle tires, and more particularly to a tire having interlocking interior sidewalls.
Conventional pneumatic tires are generally of a tubeless construction. A single puncture or hole in the outer sidewall or the tread will cause the tire to deflate, leaving the hapless driver to either change the tire if a spare is available, or refrain from using the automobile for risk of damaging the tire rim. Conventional tires typically have two exterior sidewalls without internal structural bracing. Such a tire is susceptible to lateral deformation due to high lateral loads associated with cornering too fast. This may lead to a blowout, thereby posing a safety risk, or reducing the life of the tire due to premature wear.
Prior solutions to the above-identified problems include the addition of an additional tire to the vehicle to increase the load carrying capacity of the tire, or increase the tire tread contact area with the surface for more stability. Although such solutions are effective at increasing vehicle load capacity and stability, they are not without their problems. First, adding at least one additional tire to a vehicle increases both the complexity and, therefore, the cost of the vehicle. Second, wider tire tread area may require a non-standard sized wheel hub and, therefore, is more expensive than a vehicle having a conventional sized wheel. Finally, such solutions may or may not increase the resistance of the sidewalls to lateral loads.
Therefore, there exists a need for a tire having increased load capacity, tread area and structural integrity to resist deformation, wherein such a tire is both cost effective and sized to fit conventional wheel hubs.
The present invention discloses a tire for a conventional rim, having two exterior sidewalls and two interior walls, and an annular tread portion with a center, an interior and an exterior surface. The first and second sidewalls extend radially from the tread portion. Each sidewall has a perimeter edge which is sized and configured to be coupled to a wheel hub. The first and second interior walls extend from substantially near the perimeter edge of the first and second sidewalls, respectively, to a predetermined location on the interior surface of the tread portion. The first and second interior walls being attached to the tread portion to transfer loads applied to the tire by alternatively flexing and compressing in response to the loads applied to the tire.
In a preferred embodiment, the tire has an annular tread portion having a center, an interior surface and an exterior surface. The tread portion has a first and a second region defined on the exterior surface of the tread portion forming a groove between the first and the second regions. The tire also includes a first and second sidewall extending radially from the tread portion, each of the sidewalls having a perimeter edge defining part of a bead portion. The tire also includes a first and a second interior wall. The first and second interior wall form a first and second bead, each bead is sized and configured to be coupled to a wheel hub. The first and second interior wall further include concave and convex regions extending on the wall therethrough to react to loads applied to the tire. The first and second interior wall extend diagonally from each of the respective beads to a predetermined location on the interior surface of the tread portion where each interior wall is attached to a region opposite.
In another embodiment, the tire may also include a traction ring embedded with studs, wherein the traction ring is sized and configured to be selectively attached between a groove separating the two tread regions.
In yet another embodiment, the tire has one annular tread portion with an interior and an exterior surface, a first and second sidewall extending radially from the tread portion, each sidewall having a perimeter edge forming part of a bead portion, sized and configured to be selectively coupled to a wheel hub, and a first and second interior wall, the first and second interior walls having varying radii of curvature forming concave and convex regions, the first and second interior walls forming a part of each of the respective beads. The first and second interior walls intersect one another above the tread portion forming at least three interior chambers. The first and second interior walls extend along a diagonal from the bead to the corresponding diagonal corner at the tread portion, where they are attached to the interior surface of the tread portion.
In still yet another embodiment, the tire has one annular tread portion, a first and second sidewall extending radially from the tread portion, each sidewall having a perimeter edge forming a part of a bead portion, sized and configured to be selectively coupled to a wheel hub, and a first and second interior wall, the first and second interior wall being joined at a center region of the tread portion. The first and second interior walls having varying radii of curvature forming concave and convex regions. The first and second interior walls forming a part of each of the respective beads. The first and second walls generally follow a diagonal from each respective bead to the center region of the tread portion.